


child of hypnos

by briarsrowan



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen, Just bros being bros, PTSD, Percy has Nightmares, Titan War, Trauma, bc i think thats interesting, child of hypnos, exploration of the concept of children of hypnos a little bit as well, fighting nightmares for each other, god of dreams, he just needs a good nights sleep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/briarsrowan/pseuds/briarsrowan
Summary: “Why’re you up?” Asa asked.“Couldn’t sleep,” He answered, “You?”Asa could feel the exhaustion coming off of him. It made their eyes water, and they frantically tried to rub it out of their eyes. They’d just woken up, they weren’t about to give that up already.“Slept too much,” They laughed humorlessly and sat next to Percy, hugging their legs to their body.
Relationships: Percy Jackson & Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Asa Ellery

**Author's Note:**

> Each chapter of this will be a one shot, developing this little corner of the Percy Jackson universe as I imagine it might be.

You’d think, a child of Hypnos would be well rested. Asa Ellery was anything but. They had perpetual large dark circles under their eyes, which swam with a watery purple. Their eyes closed so often that they’d never felt compelled to develop melanin. They yawned. The near constant sleep did nothing to make them feel well rested, an experience shared by nearly all of their siblings. 

Asa wandered camp. It was eerily quiet, dawn was just cracking. Morning enough to be safe from the harpies, but night enough for no one else to be up. Except for Asa, who was waking for the first time in eighteen hours.

It was infuriating sometimes, how little time they got to spend in the waking world. It felt out of their control and dangerous; they felt ruled by it. At least now, almost at their third anniversary at camp, they understood why, which sure beat the turmoil they’d lived in back when they still lived in the mortal world, but it was also their third year here and they felt like they didn’t really know anyone. 

They knew, in a way, their siblings. Asa often interacted with the other children of Hypnos in their dreams, though it was more often than not fleeting, it was a comfort from the swirling, terrifying nightmares. 

Asa had seen their siblings die so many times it was hard to tell which dreams were prophetic and which were simply nightmares caused by the prophetic dreams. (Part of Asa still doubted that any of the dreams were prophetic. They’d predicted small things, but nothing earth shattering. They were convinced of their other powers, to wander through the dreams of others, to send them nightmares or sweet dreams, but part of them hoped that time was more concrete then their building sense of it suggested it was). 

They kicked the sand on the beach and looked out at the sound. The reflections in the water did not bring them a sense of peace, they were too similar the the swirling half formed visions between dreams, but they were beautiful, and though they were consumed, in this moment, by their own bitterness, Asa could appreciate that. 

As they walked further down the beach, they realized they were not alone. 

Percy Jackson, of all people, was sitting on the edge of the shoreline, staring out on to the water, wide awake. It was both surprising and made complete sense. 

Asa didn’t know Percy particularly well. They knew they were about the same age and they had followed him into the Titan War with full trust, but somehow, embarrassingly, they did not know each other that well. Few people did. Many campers, especially those old enough to remember, but not old enough to remember when he’d first come to camp, were afraid of him and passed this on to younger campers. 

They said a lot of things about Percy Jackson. They said he could probably kill you without really meaning to. That he’d turned down the God’s. That he was loyal and strong and terrifying when he set his mind to it. 

Asa didn’t know what to think. They didn’t feel like they’d spent enough time around him to really know, but the part of them that had trusted him, followed him into battle, that part wasn’t afraid of him, though maybe it should be. 

Asa ran their hands through their hair, brushing the curls out of their face and contemplating whether or not they really wanted to go up to him. ‘Fuck it,’ They thought. ‘Don’t be afraid of him.’

“Hey Jackson,” They greeted him.

Percy blinked, like he hadn’t realized Asa had walked up. He didn’t smile, but he wasn’t openly hostile either. He just looked tired. 

“Hey,” He paused, clearly wracking his brain, “Asa.”

Asa nodded and Percy was visibly relieved. “Why’re you up?” Asa asked.

“Couldn’t sleep,” He answered, “You?”

Asa could feel the exhaustion coming off of him. It made their eyes water, and they frantically tried to rub it out of their eyes. They’d just woken up, they weren’t about to give that up already. 

“Slept too much,” They laughed humorlessly and sat next to Percy, hugging their legs to their body. The two of them looked out at the water in companionable silence. 

“Do you have trouble a lot?” Asa asks eventually, unable to stop themselves from voicing their curiosity. “Sleeping I mean.”

Percy looks at them, considering them and their mismatched pajamas and cardigan. He must find whatever he’s looking for, because when he answers, its honest. “Yeah,” He breathes out, “I don’t sleep a lot.”

“Yikes,” Asa says unhelpfully. 

Percy laughs.

“I can’t imagine what that’s like. I sleep so much dude,” Asa says, “I’m barely awake. Barely alive,” They mutter bitterly. Asa stands up abruptly, but turns to look directly at Percy. They make a startling eye contact. “If you ever need help sleeping man, just let me know. Stop by the Hypnos cabin,” They search his eyes to make sure he understands, “I got you, I mean, if you want help. Sleeping,” It comes out fractured and earnest, but Asa is already too tired to care. 

“Thanks,” Percy blinks.

With that, Asa departs. They’re only awake for another hour, before they give in and take a nap. They wake to their sister Ines shaking them. “Asa, Asa, Percy Jackson is here.”

It’s dark out, the nap had lasted longer than Asa had intended, but they often did. Ines’s words process slowly. “Nessie?” They groan, “What?”

“Percy Jackson!” Ines hisses. 

Asa props themself up and there he is, awkwardly standing in the cabin door. Percy Jackson. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you, sorry,” He says.  
Asa waves him off, “That’s okay.”

They stare at each other. 

“I um,” and wow. Asa had not realized Percy Jackson could be this awkward. “You said early that,” He trails off. 

Asa is aware of the whole cabin (that’s awake anyway) staring at them. Percy clearly is too. They consider getting out of bed and walking with him, but they know he’s asking for help sleeping and well, they’re already comfortable. So they move over. “Come here,” They say, “I can help you sleep.”

Percy walks in, clearly still uncomfortable and stands next to Asa’s bed. He’s tall and the shadow he casts would be imposing if Asa was fully awake, but they’re not. When it’s clear that he doesn’t know what to do Asa relents and smiles. 

“I won’t bite,” They promise, “Come here, it’s easier if I can touch you.”

“Oh,” Percy says.

“Is that okay?” Asa asks and before Percy can respond addresses the cabin, “Can y’all state quieter maybe? Back off my friend.” And wild, Asa isn’t sure when they started considering Percy a friend, but there it is. Something in that softens Percy and he nods. 

“Y-yeah. That’s ok,” He says. 

He crawls into the bunk with Asa, nestling himself between the many pillows and stuffed animals. They face each other, not touching.

“Are you ready to sleep?” Asa asks.

“Yes,” Percy sighs, “Please.”

Asa wraps their arms around Percy, who tenses, but leans into the embrace. “Good night Jackson,” They say and then they shut their eyes, press their forehead to Percy’s and the both of them sink into sleep. 

Percy Jackson sleeps peacefully through the night and Asa doesn’t feel so alone, battling nightmares for a friend, rather than just fighting their own. 


	2. Hemera Marcus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hemera, daughter of Hypnos, never sleeps.

Hemera Marcus was the only child of Hypnos to never sleep. She was named, ironically and unintentionally, after the Greek primordial personification of day. The name had some to her mother at the night of Hemera’s premature baby smile, which was bright and joyful. She slept maybe once a month and was sustained by an unknown force that seemed to propel her forward. 

Often, Hemera sat listlessly, praying to her father for sleep. Rarely did he oblige. In these moments her eyes were empty and dull, the bags under her eyes closer to bruises. 

Though Hemera waked, she was not free of exhaustion. Though she waked, she was not free of dreams. Dreams mixed with her reality and she was plagued by visions, never really knowing if what she was seeing was a vision of now and here or not. The visions mixed with sleep deprived hallucinations and she often found herself in the infirmary, knocked out by Apollo cabin magic and soothed with ambroisa. 

Hemera was a small girl, just ten years old, with tight dark curls and glowing cheeks. Her eyes, the same watery purple as Asa’s and the rest of her siblings. 

She seemed forsaken by their father, cursed with an unending insomnia. Though she was cursed, her prophetic dreams rivaled the power of the oracle. Hemera saw many things though she still struggled with communicating them. 

She was too young to fight in the Titan War and had been left behind at camp, 9 years old and the oldest of those left behind. She’d seen, in a rare and brief moment of sleep, Silena Beauregard’s death. 

She’d run to her, sobbing and head full of secrets that she was too young to hold. 

“Silena!” She’d cried, “Silena you can’t go!” 

It was two days before Silena would die and so she smiled at Hemera and hushed her. “Go where Mera?”

“Manhattan,” Hemera gasped, barely out of the throughs of her dream, “You mustn’t go to Manhattan.”

Silena frowned and glanced around at her siblings, who had stopped their various activities to listen. “Let’s go for a walk out sweetheart?” She said nervously, brushing her long hair aside. 

Hemera agreed and they left the Aphrodite Cabin, Hemera white knuckling Silena’s hand. She did not let go as they walked in silence. She did not let go when they made it away from the cabins and finally, Silena broke the silence. 

“What happened Mera?”

“I had a dream,” She said, voice shaky and wet. 

“Oh I’m sure it was just a nightmare sweetheart,” At this point, no one knew Hemera was a daughter of Hypnos. She was just another unclaimed child, young enough to be bitter, but not old enough to be quite angry and much too young for Luke to bother with her. So Silena didn’t know, really, what she was saying, though she did know in her heart that it was not just a nightmare. She knew what was coming and ever since Charlie’s death she hadn’t had much hope she’d make it through the war alive. 

“No,” Said Hemera, “It wasn’t.” 

Silena stills. 

Hemera pulls away and asks, not unkindly, “How is Luke, Silena?”

“What?” Silena laughs, eyes darting to see if anyone has heard. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Hemera watches her do this and shakes her head. “Silena I, please,” Hemera begs, leaving the Luke thing behind. “Don’t go. Don’t take her armour. We need you.”

Silena pats Hemera on the head and says, though she feels as if she is lying, “I won’t. I’ll stay.”

Hemera sighs. Her eyes are sad, she knows its a lie as well as Silena does, but neither of them call it. “Get some rest Hemera,” Silena says. 

Hemera sighs again, “I’ll try.”

She does not sleep for nearly two months after, and spends the last two weeks of that in the infirmary, crazy with visions of Silena. Hemera screams and the camp is otherwise silent in mourning. They are not ready yet. 

She is claimed, during all of this, too delirious to understand what it means. But Hypnos claims her and then, he helps her sleep, sends her into sweet dreams. She sleeps for nearly a week and slowly, Camp Half-Blood begins to heal. 


End file.
